The present invention relates to golf clubs and, more particularly, to an improved putter having a specially formed head.
There are, of course, a considerable number of differing types and styles of putters used in playing the game of golf including those with considerable differences in the length of the putter shaft. There are also a wide range or variety of putter heads affixed to such shafts that are intended, one way or the other, to improve the performance of a golfer on the green. In such putters, as will hereinafter be defined, the putter has a front face, that is, the face that strikes the ball in carrying out the putt and, of course, there is a back face that is opposite to the front face. Since the front face is the surface that engages the ball, it is therefore an important surface and its profile is of utmost importance in affecting the path of the ball after being stuck by the putter. As an additional surface of the golf putter, there is, of course, a bottom surface and which is juxtaposed with respect to the surface of the green as the putt is being carried out. As will be seen, that bottom surface is, however also of importance in performing the putt.
One difficulty in current putters, however, is that it is possible, and with many golfers quite common, for the bottom of the putter head to scuff the surface of the green as the putter moves, in a pendulum motion, to strike the ball. Normally, while it is the bottom surface of the putter that scuffs the green surface, it is also the leading edge of the button surface that is most likely to contact the green surface and that contact can obviously affect the performance of the putt since the golfer cannot anticipate that encounter with the green surface. In any event, the contact with or scuffing of the green surface results in a detrimental affect on the length of the putt. If one were to know the amount of such interference with the putting surface, it would be possible to adjust the putting stroke to take that resistance into account and still have a consistent putting stroke, however, the real difficulty lies in the fact that the golfer contacts the surface of the green inconsistently and therefore has no way of automatically making such compensation for the resistance experienced in contacting the surface of the green.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to have a golf putter that would greatly reduce and minimize the possibility of the bottom surface of the putter encountering the surface of the green in the first place so that the golfer can better judge and anticipate the distance of the putt. As such, it would therefore be preferable to construct a putter head that would minimize the resistance encountered between the putter head and the surface of the green in the event such scuffing takes place so that such advantage can be realized by any golfer using that specially designed putter.
Therefore, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a specially constructed putter head that is designed to reduce and minimize the potential of the golfer contacting the surface of the green. However, if such contact is experienced, the present putter head minimizes the effect of such contact and thereby make a putt having a more predictable length.
In the design and construction of the present putter head, the head itself has a front face, a back face and a bottom surface. With the inventive design, the lower edge of the front surface is formed as an upwardly directed arcuate configuration, that is, the center area of the front face is displaced upwardly away from the putting surface of the green as the club is normally utilized. With such arcuate configuration or profile, two outer edges are formed at the ends of the arcuate front face at opposite ends of the front face. In the preferred profile, the lower edge of the front face is a concave surface.
To further reduce the lower surface of the putter that is susceptible to scuffing on the green surface, the bottom surface of the putter head is also angled upwardly from the front face toward the back face, that is, the lower surface of the bottom of the putter slopes upwardly, away from the putting surface in the rearward direction such that the back face of the club has a lower edge that is displaced upwardly with resect to the surface of the putting green as the putter is utilized. By that upwardly sloping surface, the putter head is basically designed so as to only contact the surface of the putting green initially along a two point contact, with those points located at the outer edges of the front face of the putter head.
As can be now seen, in the normal pendulum motion of the swing of the putter, there is a minimum of surface of the putter head that can contact and thus scuff the surface of the green. While the present description has referred to the scuffing taking place in the forward direction of the putter motion, it can be seen that the scuffing can also take place on the back swing of the putter and which can also be extremely disruptive to the normal motion and rhythm desired by the golfer.
Other features of the golf putter head and golf putter will become apparent in light of the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.